Austin bicycling leaders are pedaling ahead in their efforts to make Austin a Bike Friendly City.

Steve Kime, chairman of Vision 2020’s Bike/Walk Trail Committee, submitted Austin’s Bike Friendly City application earlier this month.

“We’re really going to find out where we stand, where we are right now and what we can do to get to the next level,” he said. “You have to start somewhere.”

Kime and other bike enthusiasts have worked over the last year to complete a community assessment and application, and Kime praised the city officials, law enforcement officials and many other community leaders who helped bring it to fruition.

“It really, really was a group project,” he said.

He also praised the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) for its help in completing the assessment.

“They’re very good at identifying the things you need to do,” he said.

The push for Austin to apply was in part driven by Vision 2020’s Bike/Walk Trail Committee, which went before the Austin City Council last August to get a $500 grant to supplement the $3,500 the group had raised. That made for the needed $4,000 to work with BikeMN on getting the Bike Friendly designation from the American League of Bicyclists.

Currently, 16 cities in Minnesota are Bike Friendly Cities, but only four of them are Twin Cities communities. Cities include St. Paul, Minneapolis, Mankato, Rochester and Crosby.

During a visit to Austin last year, BikeMN Executive Director Dorian Grilley described a Bike Friendly Designation as something that is vital for communities, citing national surveys showing young people look for towns where it’s safe and convenient to walk and bike.

Austin isn’t just up for being titled a Bike Friendly City, as it could also get an honorable mention or some other designation.

An honorable mention, to Kime, would at least be a good starting point. The application and review could also help identify ways Austin can improve. For example, Kime noted he’s already noticed Austin could do more with adding bike lanes around town.